Lessons From The Lions: The 3Ds of Winning In spite of Your Circumstances.
They Dreamed. They Dared. They Did. A 3-D formula for success.
It’s the typical grass to grace story. Three weeks ago, no one gave them a fighting chance. No one believed they would go past the group stages. Everyone — almost everyone — wrote them off even before they had kicked the ball on the pitch in Gabon.
Dismissed as outsiders, Cameroonians themselves could have cared less about a national team which became the butt-joke of many on Social Media. Their qualification to the competition was scoffed at and the team was the subject of endless divisive narratives. Anger meant for the real culprits of bad governance was vented at them and wishes that they fail at this outing took center stage. The worst of it? Anyone who supported and cheered them was singled out and told off.
“I don’t think anyone here would have bet a cent on us beforehand and that’s a real shame for them.” — Benjamin Moukanjo
The indomitable lions’ journey to victory has been 15 years in the making. The timing — given the crisis back home — was not exactly friendly. The home support virtually in-existent. The setbacks enormous. These were young guys. No big names. 14 of the 23 playing at their first Cup of Nations competition. We couldn’t have been more mentally and physically ill-prepared. Some 8 players out-rightly declined coach Hugo Broos’ call-up to play. All of them, top footballers, earning their living in European leagues. As CNN’s Mathias Grez put it:
This was the team nobody gave a chance; a team lacking in quality and experience. But those who answered Broos’ call and traveled to Gabon really wanted to be there; wanted to wear the green shirt and do their country proud.
Match after match, stage after stage, it didn’t always look like this big win would be the lions’ final outcome. The group stages were not exactly confidently won. The inexperience, the nerves and perhaps the naivety came across every now and then. In two big games, our defense was pulled apart, causing us to come back from behind, adapt, innovate, change, and fight for the win, with the finals being the hardest hurdle to climb. The opponent was a team who had not conceded a goal all through the competition thanks to their legendary 44-year-old goalkeeper; a 7-time African champion who had beaten Cameroon 6 out of the 9 times both teams had met at an AFCON game.
Already without those eight pre-tournament dropouts, Cameroon was dealt another major blow just after the half hour mark during the finals. Defender Adolphe Teikeu, who had shone throughout the tournament, limped off — close to tears — with an ice pack strapped to his upper thigh. Though Cameroon continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession, a toothless display forced Broos into making a change at half-time. Star striker Aboubakar, deemed not fit enough to play from the start, came on to replace an anonymous Ndip Tambe. And the game turned on its head.
As the competition ended, Moukanjo was crowned Man of the Match and it was revealed that the overall best player in the competition is Bassogog. We secured a place in the confederations cup in Russia, our number in the FIFA football rankings is set to go up and best of all, we have regained our reputation as one of Africa’s most revered and respected football nations.
Every single Cameroonian — who has come of age and wants good governance, national equity and a better society for themselves — can and must learn critical lessons from the indomitable lions’ incredible run at the AFCON 2017. It is time for us to translate the principles of collaboration, capacity and creation that govern our ability to defy all odds as young people into the political process in order to secure a better nation for ourselves.
What are the odds that months from now, we can change our government at the polls? If I told you — the underdog polity — that you can remove the incumbent from power in 2018, I am sure you will look at me and scoff.
“In the 29 years I’ve been a coach I’ve never worked with a group like this. It’s a fantastic group of players both on and off the field and they deserve the final.” — Hugo Broos
The lions’ performance is proof that a setback is only a setup for a comeback — if you really want it to be. Their resilience, collaboration, commitment, hope, strategy, team spirit, belief, discipline, courage and friendship are qualities that young Cameroonians can emulate, imbibe and act upon to get the most important win: change in governance. The fight those young men put up is inspiration and revival of hope for many. So what must we learn?
The Leadership Lesson: History has shown that accidental leadership is a recipe for disaster. Hugo Broos is obviously a very different kind of leader. A visionary strategist who prefers to give the opportunity to those who have proven they merit it and have the capacity to exploit it. When 8 players turned his invitation down, he worked with who he had. When a playing strategy didn’t work out, he swiftly made necessary changes, refusing to remain in risky deadlocks.
We can no longer afford to be a multitude who follow just anyone tagged ‘leader’ as long as they make the right noises and inspire some form of belief. Also, our current leaders cannot continue to hold on to the fringes of power in every institutional and political corridor. We must not continue to let them. Sometimes, giving way saves the day. More importantly, we must — first — learn to hold our leaders accountable by questioning their words and actions.
The Interest Lesson: If 15 years of failure did not put off the players who decided to turn up, 34 years of decadence should not put us off — it should actually be our motivator. Progress begins with interest. Action begins with concern. Where there is a will, there is a way.
For how long will we remain in ‘man-go-do-how’ lane? For how long will we respond with the phrase: ‘On va faire comment?’ For how long shall we fear election malpractices? How come we do not fear a bullet in a civil disobedience street protest yet we are so afraid of election malpractices we refuse to consider the polls? For how long shall we underestimate our capacity to make change happen — especially when there is never a right time to do a difficult thing?
The Identity Lesson: Successful ventures — e.g; citizen participation that removes an incumbent at the polls — do not care what region you come from, what religion you practice, what village your parents call theirs, or what colonial language you speak. When interviewed about why his ‘unknown’ players were progressing so well during the competition, coach Hugo Broos replied: ‘’This is a group of 23 friends who like to play football and win. I’ve never seen this.’’ Telling, not only of the previous team dynamic, but of the importance of identifying yourself to purpose and not to the propaganda of the day.
The Capacity Lesson: Victory is not free. Getting credible leaders, good governance and functioning institutions comes at a cost. You have to be willing to sacrifice something to get something. The Lions gave their everything, in spite of the odds heavily stacked against them. We have to make conscious decisions that revolve around our civic responsibility. I believe that we — the people — need to take ownership of our nation’s political destiny by exercising our civic responsibilities effectively and consistently. Our nation gives us very little, yet, we make impact in technology, business, innovation and other industries. So why has our generation not made a dent on the political landscape? We have failed to match the generational achievements of others in Cameroon’s political history; men and women who fought for and led Cameroon in their 20s and 30s. We have failed to translate our energy, abilities and proficiency in entertainment, business, sports, technology etc… to politics. Why are we not using what we have to do what we can where we are?
The Collaboration Lesson: I think some of the blame for our ineffectiveness lies with our Pride, Presumption and Laziness. There’s a marked difference between apathy and laziness in my generation. Apathy says: “nothing I do will matter and Cameroon doesn’t deserve it”. Laziness says: “I can do something but it will take too much to do so”. Pride and presumption ensure we do not play well with others in our generation. Gather young people together in a room and they’ll argue about any and everything but the crux of the matter. It’s happening all over Social Media. They’ll argue about who should lead and how things should be done, instead of just getting it done. It’s like a congregation of egos clapping to a melody of discordant agendas. Who noticed when team captain Moukanjo would not lift the trophy until his teammate Nkoulou was by his side?
There’ll be those who feel they know better than the older generation and refuse to be accountable. Pre-meditated plans will clash with a general unwillingness to confront facts or respect empirical data. Around the table will be those who feel those who shout the loudest or contribute the most money should be listened to and not those with the brightest ideas, the selfless will and the innate abilities.
Yet, to get big(ger) and quick(er) wins, we need collectives of people working towards a common goal. We need teams and teammates. As a generation, we need to tap into the best resources available to us and combine them, each person doing what they do best. Isolated bursts of activity will lead to splintered efforts and minimal results. We must be willing to work very hard and sacrifice something for the greater good. Showing up for or convening events is not enough. We must put our money, brain and time where our mouths are, even if we are not the center of attention. We must join political parties, drive agenda in those parties as a group, support and endorse the candidates we want, take up appointments and do the work we say should be done. And we must act as targeted, united groups.
The Compassion Lesson: The world is cruel. The internet — the weapon of our generation — is even more so. You have to be kind and you have to show kindness. Our football team served the nation selflessly, with no airs and no demands, probably understanding our history of inefficiencies and people struggles. Throughout the tournament, they lifted each other, cared for one another and spoke well of each other. In the end, they remembered a lost great one… and by the same measure proved that every single Cameroonian — alive or dead , from yesterday or today — matters. What do we gain from our continuous narratives of mockery and scorn about the Lions, our fellow citizens and others? What does the nation gain? — Nothing.
The Knowledge Lesson: We need a drastic shift from Pulpit Mentality — a mentality which ensures that anyone standing on a pulpit and preaching a message is lifted to the rank of deity without checks and balances. In today’s world of fake news, alternative facts and blatant falsehood, getting informed, engaged and enlightened is as important as taking your next breath. There is nothing as destructive as poverty of the mind, gullibility or living in denial. If we do not begin to educate and enlighten the grassroots as well as our young ones, to increase their capacity for critical reasoning and asking the right questions; we are at great risk. If we do not tame religion, and siege mentality that takes over narratives and debates, it will kill us. Knowing means acting based on evidence. Knowing means appreciating humanity irrespective of our differences. Knowing means refusing to be fed what the stomach should not take. Some of the world’s greatest tragedies happened because of ignorance. Knowledge kills ignorance.
The Resilience Lesson: Like the Lions, sometimes you will be knocked hard in your quest for change. You will be arrested arbitrarily, your internet might be shut off, your plans disrupted, your operations foiled. But you must learn to never give up. You must learn to rise again, come from behind and win. Like Aboubakar, you must finish off with a confidence and brilliance that sends a strong message to your adversaries to take you seriously. Giving up is not an option when the win is only a horizon away. Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
The Office of the Citizen: When you stand up to be counted, you stand for yourself first. As a citizen, you can no longer ignore what the government does or fails to do. You have to make demands of your government and of your leaders. Institutions are run by people. Systems are created and implemented by people. The more docile a citizen you are, the less you should expect of your government. A government who does not fear its people does nothing for its people.
By acting consistently and continuously, by exercising civic duties and engaging in the political process, we reduce the dominant incident for government’s poor governance. As long as citizens take all the oppression governments gives them without care, without resolute action — and demanding nothing of their government — the government will have no incentive to supply the good governance citizens deserve. Therefore, we must work for Cameroon in order for Cameroon to work for us. No one will if we don’t. Remember: The highest office of the land is the Office of the Citizen. Take your place in your office and be counted, just like the lions did.
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Three weeks after they got into the competition, every part of the globe is speaking well of us as a people and as a nation. People of every age, background and affiliation have nothing but respect — once again — for Cameroon’s football. All because a shift occurred. That shift was a few committed people who saw an opportunity, accepted it and ran with it.
After years of underachievement, the story of this particular Indomitable lions team and their road to success, is an outstanding one. It is a story that will be told for generations to come. It is true legacy. This was supposed to be the worst indomitable lions team in a generation. Now, they are the best indomitable lions team in a generation. Not only are we champions for a 5th time, we are now the second most decorated nation in Africa with the African Nations Cup. All because a few dreamed it, dared it, and did it.
In two years time, Cameroon will take to the AFCON pitch as host and defending champion. Posterity will remember the story of these young ones and will tell of how they honorably contributed to the nation then as it tells it now. I challenge you and I to come from nowhere at the polls in 2018 and make change happen.
What will your contribution to this nation be? What will your story be? Most of all, what will your legacy be?
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1. The Collaborations Lesson: as written in (& only slightly adapted from) Subomi Plumptre’s: ‘Who Will Go For Us?’
2. AFCON: African Cup of Nations, also known as CAF — Confédération Africaine de Football | Confederation of African Football
